Never leave me
by Yuuko Uchiha
Summary: Hiatus. While preparing for their new assignment, Naruto & Sasuke had a hard time believing that anything they come across could be more problematic then the cover they were working under – as lovers. They were proved right.
1. Chapter 1

Warning. This is a NaruSasuNaru which means y-a-o-i .:shudders:. y-a-o-i .:giggles:.

If you don't like it, you don't have to read it

- -

**Title**: Never Leave Me  
**Authors: **Cupricanka & Yuuko Uchiha  
**Rating**: will be PG-17  
**Genre**: Horror/Supernatural  
**Beta**: Dolphina23  
**Summary**: _While preparing for their new assignment, Naruto & Sasuke had a hard time believing that anything they come across could be more problematic then the cover they were working under – as lovers. They were proved right. _**  
**

-

* * *

-

Tsunade's office smelled faintly of alcohol almost always; Naruto's nose confirmed that today was not an exception. She knew that there was a running bet around the office about whether or not she was actually drinking it or using hard liquor for something else because, despite the smell, no one had ever caught her drunk. On the contrary, her sharp eyes were always quick to catch all the things that needed yelling about, like the lack of freshly made coffee.

The most problematic partnership in the police station was sitting across from her in plain wooden chairs. Just looking at the two of them, sitting close enough to elbow each other at the first disagreement – which was just a matter of minutes, really – was giving her a headache.

But the thought of shipping them off, and everyone else being rid of an obvious problem, gave her the necessary strength to start the briefing.

"You are going to take a vacation," Tsunade said as she handed a folder to Sasuke.

"What?!" Naruto almost shrieked, standing up. "Why are you punishing us? It's not fair! I bet it was Sasuke's fault anyway."

There must have been a better way to start it, though. It seemed that the very idea of an undeserved suspension was making Naruto panic. Well, it should bother him - a suspension went on his record, after all - but did he really have to yell?

"It's an assignment, idiot," Sasuke fortunately answered, not even bothering to spare Naruto a glance as he picked through the contents of the folder.

"An assignment?" Naruto asked, puzzled. He was watching Sasuke, but then he glanced up towards Tsunade before turning to Sasuke again.

"An undercover mission," Sasuke informed him, raising a questioning eyebrow at his boss.

Naruto blinked once and sat down with only an 'Oh!' as the answer. His eyes lit up, though. After all that asking and begging for an exciting case, he should be happy about this; never mind that he was not chosen to work on it because of his competence.

"Yes, it's an undercover mission," Tsunade finally started again. "In a small, nearby town, the Chief of the police department went missing a couple of days ago. The local police has requested our assistance."

Sasuke had started flipping through files again while she was still speaking. Tsunade now wished she had given the folder to him after explaining her part.

"Not all these files are on the missing Chief if the police," Sasuke stated, trying at the same time to elbow Naruto away from him. Tsunade almost rolled her eyes. If Sasuke really wanted Naruto to stop looking over his shoulder, he was smart enough to then take half of the files out of the folder and hand them over to read.

"No. Inside are also all the files the Chief was working on at the time of and before his disappearance," Tsunade said. Sasuke was still looking over the files, but she knew he was listening. On the other hand, she was glad Naruto was looking at her. "He was named Chief five months ago, when the old one retired. He was transferred from another town, so it seems it took him a couple of months to get used to the new place and the townsfolk."

"Name, age, rank, special prizes," Sasuke rang out, almost to himself, finally picking out a file and handing it over to Naruto. After reading shortly from another one, he took that one out as well. "Cases he had solved. For a small town cop, this is pretty impressive."

Because Naruto was busy reading, Sasuke left the solved cases file on his lap. The thin paper folder, of course, slid right to the floor. Naruto stopped reading to glare sideways. Tsunade said quickly, to intercept the inevitable blow, "Yes, that's why, even though it has been only a couple of days, his co-workers don't want to wait."

"Do they have a reason to believe he is dead?" Sasuke asked. "The cases he was working on…"

"What?" Naruto asked. "What was he working on?"

"Read the file," Sasuke instructed him before turning back to Tsunade. "These unsolved cases; he may have gotten too close to the answer."

"That is a possibility," Tsunade agreed.

"But," Naruto asked. "Why is this mission undercover? I mean the police department asked for our help, didn't they?"

Sasuke and Tsunade exchanged a knowing glance.

"One of the cases he was working on involves a police officer," Tsunade explained.

"Ah." Puzzled, Naruto glanced at the folder and then towards Tsunade. "Really?"

"Asuma Sarutobi," Tsunade said, after a short effort to remember the name she had only read once. "His nephew was involved in a case of vandalism. It wouldn't be that big of a deal in such a small town, but the same cop was the last person to see our missing person."

Sasuke took the files again. "He was also working on the missing children case and a robbery."

Tsunade shrugged, a little movement to express her opinion on the dullness of the small town's police business. "As you will see in the files, the children began to disappear a couple years ago, but it stopped on its own eventually."

Naruto was paying attention again and in order to keep it that way, Tsunade turned to him.

"At the beginning, the townsfolk thought the kids were getting lost in the forest because of some old folklore tales. You should probably ask around about that." There could be some clues in them, depending on what was talked about. Tsunade had read about it, but there were no details of the folktale in the file. There might be some old mine there, or something else that was dangerous for children to play around. "They had organized the search parties and investigated, of course, but not even one child was ever found. After a while, they had to assume that someone was kidnapping the kids and they even had a suspect, but no proof strong enough to prosecute. The case was just lying around until the new chief came to town and decided to dig a little deeper on his own."

Naruto was nodding with approval, as if to say that he would have done that, too. His amazing sense of justice was one of the reasons why Tsunade liked him despite several glaring flaws.

"The robbery was committed in a 'do it yourself' shop. The cash of the day was taken, but also some products which they thought could be sold later," Tsunade informed them about the second case, and pointed out the file. "There is the list included."

Sasuke, predictably, found it right away and scanned thought the items.

Tsunade continued: "And the vandalism, well... it was in a local inn. The police believe that a local gang was responsible, of which Sarutobi's nephew was a member. But the owner of the house didn't want to file a complaint. She was pretty upset, though."

"Seriously?" Naruto snorted. "Those are some minor crimes. It must be the missing children's case."

"I told you, it's a quiet town," Tsunade reminded him. Privately, she agreed with Naruto, even though she knew all about what sort of things might make a person snap and start to kill. A robbery or vandalism just didn't sound serious enough to do that to – or cause someone to kidnap, she must remember he was officially just missing – a cop. "And you should know by now, not everything is what it seems. Investigate all his cases carefully."

Sasuke hummed in agreement, getting a glare from Naruto in return.

When he got no response, Naruto asked, "What's our cover?"

Inside, Tsunade was grinning like a wolf that had stumbled on a lonely sheep. On the outside, she was very professional. "Sasuke is working for a nature magazine and he is doing an article on the local fauna."

"You gotta be kidding me," Sasuke whispered, annoyed. Naruto chuckled.

Tsunade ignored the comment. "As for Naruto… On such a boring job assignment journey, no one can blame a young, healthy reporter for wanting to bring along some company."

Both young men were frowning. Tsunade graciously waited until they processed the information.

"No way." Sasuke reacted first. "No way in hell. Who's going to believe that? Just no."

That was three rejections in the first try. Tsunade considered it success.

"Who's gonna believe _what_?" Naruto asked suspiciously, watching her with his eyes narrowed. "This is not what I think it is, is it?"

"If you were any slower you would be crawling backwards," Sasuke snapped at him, probably because he couldn't snap at Tsunade.

"Hey! I'm not slow!" _Yeah, right_, Tsunade wanted to snort. "You're just talking in riddles on purpose."

If anyone asked her, Tsunade, as the authority figure she was, would deny it, but deep inside she was enjoying this. They were just so sweet and oblivious. By now, she knew exactly what insult would be the next one to come. So she was itching to tell Sasuke that he was one, too, even before he said, "Idiot."

Naruto was predictable, and also right to some degree. "Bastard."

And now it was time for Sasuke's moderately lucid reasoning for why everything was Naruto's fault. It was one of Tsunade's favorite parts, because she could adopt some of his points and yell at Naruto later.

"This is your entire fault." Tsunade almost rolled her eyes, it was so predictable. "If you hadn't scratched her car..." Tsunade leaned forward, angry and amused at the same time. She'd been looking for the offender everywhere. And she obviously never would have realized who it was if they hadn't all thought she knew everything that was happening around her. "She wouldn't have made us do this."

"Are you saying," Naruto said, invading Sasuke's personal space boldly just to give him a glare. "That we aren't good enough to get an assignment as important as this? We can get a dangerous mission because we can solve it, not just because the boss wants to get rid of me!"

"No." Sasuke leaned right back toward Naruto. They were practically nose-to-nose. Tsunade almost forgot about her car and the revenge that was starting to brew for when they came back over the sheer amount of electrical sparks that were filling her office rapidly. "What I'm saying is that if you weren't a lousy driver you wouldn't have pissed her off, _yet again,_ and then we wouldn't have to pretend to be _lovers_ because of it!"

Naruto flinched back like he'd been burned. His eyes widened comically. _Like a deer caught in the headlights,_ Tsunade thought gleefully.

"But why?" Naruto asked after several startled seconds.

Now, the dilemma came. The truth wasn't an option. She couldn't tell her employees '_because, although we know it's not exactly ethical, we all just want you two to fuck and get it over with_'. Her choice was to either lie or...

"To help you get along better." Tell them a half truth.

Naruto huffed. "But I get along with this bastard. Right, asshole?"

Sasuke seemingly agreed with Tsunade that Naruto was not choosing the right words to convince her. "Tsk... idiot."

Enough was enough.

"Language!" Tsunade finally yelled. "I've had enough of your complains! You know very well that we are short in workforce. And besides," She sighed, because she didn't want to say it. Naruto could take it too much to heart. "You are very good at what you do."

"That doesn't explain the fact that we have to pretend to be a couple," Sasuke insisted "No one is going to believe that."

"Then better work extra hard to make them believe," Tsunade told him sharply. "This is not open to discussion."

It was Naruto's turn to try again, and he opened his mouth. Tsunade turned her hardest stare on him. "That will be all. If I hear a single complaining word from either one of you two, I am suspending you both. _Without_ pay."

"Hey! I'm not saying we don't want the case," Naruto cried out, sounding almost offended. "It's just that, he's right. No one is gonna believe that!"

_Yet, you both talk like one,_ Tsunade thought and suppressed another sigh. There was only one thing left for her to say, and she did it happily.

"Get out of my office and start the necessary preparations for your trip," she instructed them in her most commanding manner. "You're leaving as soon as I take care of the paperwork."

Glaring mostly at her, and some at each other, both parts of the most annoying partnership the precinct ever had walked out of her office. Tsunade tasted a little bit of Nirvana. She would enjoy the next couple of days with the two of them out of her way and decided it was celebration time.

Now, where had she put that bottle?

- - -

What Sasuke had planned on doing after he got out of Tsunade's office was to make sure that the mechanic checked out his car before the trip, because they obviously couldn't use the patrol one, then go back to his apartment to pack and find his boots. What he was actually doing was sitting at his desk, right across from Naruto's, and glaring at his partner who was exchanging some cheesy joke or another with Inuzuka, and _laughing_.

Did he forget about their assignment already? That would be just like him. But this was not a game. Didn't the moron see that? Did he even realize that they were expected to sleep in the same bed for, at the very least, several nights? Not just say it, but play the role fully?

Probably not, because then he wouldn't have gotten over it so fast. Fucking hell. How were they supposed to pull this off without maiming each other?

A hand hitting the desk in front of him snapped Sasuke out of his thoughts. "Yo, you coming or what?"

"Where?" When had Naruto come so close anyway?

"Kiba has the gym booked." Naruto grinned. It probably meant that Inuzuka sent the rookies on a wild goose chase and claimed their reservation. "I want to kick your ass before we go."

Sasuke didn't feel much like sparring. But saying no to Naruto was not an option. He had an annoying habit of going behind Sasuke all day long and calling him a chicken. It was unacceptable. Naruto was already shifting his weight from one foot to another, warming up and waggling his eyebrows in a friendly way. But his eyes told a different tale; not accepting a challenge like this one was not an option.

Besides, even when Sasuke was in a bad mood he would never pass up a chance for a good training session with Naruto because of it. Because the required physical preparation for the job became somewhat of an obsession, Sasuke couldn't find many people who could keep up with him. And on that short list, Naruto was at the top.

He stood up to follow Naruto and Kiba to the locker room. Not surprisingly, when the few officers who were training saw them enter they came closer to the area of the gym where they usually sparred. People liked blood, Naruto liked attention and Sasuke wasn't averse to either.

Sasuke barely managed to catch the focus pads when Naruto threw them. That was all of the equipment the two of them were using, despite the regulations. And only because Naruto had literally dropped his gun in the middle of a raid after he had lost all feeling in his arms from one of their nastier training sessions they'd had earlier in the day. They had invented their own game after that. The one with the pads was supposed to avoid the hits the other one was trying to land. Sasuke put them on without complaint. His turn would come soon enough.

Barefoot on the set of joined mats, Sasuke turned to face his partner. Naruto had a big, fox-like and slightly crazy grin on his face as he rolled his shoulders and then stretched with his arms high above his head. A shiver of excitement made Sasuke smirk back at him. Not in the mood, _right_. Like that was even possible.

Without giving a warning, Naruto started. The first two hits Sasuke met half-way, to remind himself just how strong Naruto was and how little he held it back. The impact surged through his arms, almost paralyzing them. So when Naruto's third punch came, Sasuke avoided it by moving at the last second. His fist ended up in the air a couple of inches to the right from his face. Naruto's grin widened and another series of strikes began.

Sasuke had to focus more than usual to avoid them. So, before he realized it, there was a wall only a couple of steps behind him. If he continued in the pattern Naruto was commanding, he would end up flat against it. While trying to find a way to get out of it, Sasuke let Naruto hit the pads a couple of times, holding his ground. It was the wrong thing to do.

After the first contact, Naruto growled, _really_ growled, and when the second punch came it was stronger. The third one was hard enough for Sasuke to feel it in his spine, the fourth one actually hurt. Naruto was too far gone; that had only happened a couple of times before. He was really upset back then, so that must be the case now, too. Good, both of them should let their frustrations out before getting stuck together twenty four hours out of the day.

And shit, this wasn't about him having to share a bed with Sasuke for a couple of nights, was it? He couldn't be this upset about that, could he? It wasn't _that_ big of a deal. Naruto couldn't be that repulsed with the prospect, right? _Right?_

Instead of avoiding the fifth hit, Sasuke picked it up with his right padded hand and brushed it aside. Naruto lost his stability for a moment. Sasuke used the first step forward just to position himself better. The second one turned into a half-kick to push Naruto back as far as possible.

Naruto stumbled backwards, but he didn't fall. He lifted his hands up to his face, almost as if he was trying to hide the intense look in his eyes. But a moment later, they fell to his sides and curled back into fists.

"Take them _off_!"

"What, my pants?" Sasuke sneered. "What was all that complaining about, if you're that eager?"

The catcalls of the people who were watching reminded Sasuke that they weren't alone. Naruto turned so red his face looked like a ripe tomato. It would be funny, if Sasuke didn't want to make a crack in it with his own hand right then.

"The _focus pads_, you asshole!"

Naruto was yelling, but Sasuke was sure that there was a panicked quality in his voice. It made him even angrier. He took off the pads and threw him at Naruto one by one. They were mostly soft, but Naruto jerked automatically to avoid them, which was just the perfect opening.

Sasuke stepped closer again - which took them right back where they had started, in the middle of the mat – and landed the first real hit, picking up Naruto's chin with the side of his hand. There was no time to waste. If Naruto recovered his balance, Sasuke would be in trouble. He used the small kick Naruto avoided as a leverage to gain more speed and force by changing his legs as Naruto retreated to kick higher.

It worked. From under Naruto's raised arm, the side of Sasuke's heel connected to his ribs. Naruto took the hit and grunted in pain. Sasuke almost regretted it, _almost_. But then he felt Naruto's arm wrapping around his leg and was pushed back hard. There was no way for Sasuke to even try to keep himself up. But he was able to get the hold of Naruto – or more like his shirt – so that when he fell down, Naruto fell with him.

For a moment, neither of them moved. Sasuke had landed on his hip and elbow with Naruto still holding one of his legs and sitting on the other, which was weird and painful. Instead of moving out of the grip, Sasuke carefully pushed to check just how much damage he had done. A hiss of pain replaced the short flicker of worry in Naruto's blue yes and Sasuke had just enough time to think, -- _when did he get a set of such perfect teeth? --_ before Naruto's fist exploded on his jaw.

Sasuke pushed harder with his foot now, but Naruto ignored the pain and used his automatic advantage. He was already sitting on Sasuke's thigh, so when he leaned over heavily and shoved on Sasuke's shoulder, there was no choice but to lay back down.

Naruto had won this fight, but he was glaring down at Sasuke, probably waiting for the voiced confirmation. Sasuke smirked. Well, he had better be ready to sit there all day long, because he would not get _that_.

But then it happened. They were too close; so close that when his eyes slipped from Naruto's and ended up on his mouth, Sasuke couldn't deny it. He couldn't deny that for one insane moment there, he was _tempted_.

Naruto wouldn't let go when he jerked to free himself, though. Sasuke gritted out, "What the fuck is your problem? It's just an assignment. It doesn't mean _anything_."

Naruto blinked and frowned, and when the words reached his brain, he let go and stood up so fast that he had to wince from the pain of his bruised ribs. Sasuke smirked again, this time to cover for the regret. That kick had been really powerful and Naruto hadn't even hit his jaw hard enough to distract him. He was sorry, and he will make sure it never happened again, but Naruto had no business knowing that.

Sasuke pushed himself up and almost collided with the hand in front of his face. Naruto's face was serious and maybe a little anxious. Sasuke snorted and took his hand to help him up. Naruto should know better. They had lived through so much; through life-threatening situations, all night stakeouts, family emergencies and a palette of love interests. This would be no different; at first a reluctant but now firm friendship had been established. And though it had its flaws, it had to survive.

It just had to.

- - -

A green wall of trees was surrounding them. Naruto, with his head resting on the car's window, was trying to count the trees as they passed them. But he was just able to see the green blur because Sasuke was driving too fast. The afternoon's sun was hidden behind the treetops and a heavy layer of clouds, so the light was dim and nostalgic.

In his hands was the file of the case they were working on. Sasuke would know it by heart by now, Naruto could tell. But he couldn't make himself to read it enough to learn all the details. Naruto sighed; they had never worked that way. It was Sasuke's part to read and learn and then tell Naruto all he needed to know, just as it was Naruto's to follow his gut, and to make sure Sasuke ate whenever he got too involved in a case.

They would be staying at the inn that had been vandalized and it seemed like everything would go from there. Sasuke was supposed to be working on a magazine article that would give them an excuse to wander through the forest and their outsiders' status to ask questions. Naruto still wished he was allowed to flash his badge if the need for it arose because, from his experience, people found it inspirational when it came to talking.

He was mostly trying not to think about their cover.

The trip so far had been quiet; Sasuke was focused on the road that was slippery from the light rain. Naruto was restless on his seat. The gloomy atmosphere with the chilly weather made him wish he was back home, cuddled in the covers of his bed. Sasuke had been edgy ever since the fight, Naruto could tell by the way the muscles on his back were tensed, even though nothing insulting was said. In fact, the silence between them, the lack of insults and fighting, was the first sign things between them were not exactly good.

But it wasn't bad either. It was just some tension, they would work it out.

_He could use a cup of warm chocolate, too,_ Naruto thought. It was just the right weather and Sasuke would roll his eyes when Naruto ordered it for them both. But he would drink it and it would do him a world of good. But before that, they would have to find the inn and check in as a couple; as _lovers_.

The word landed heavily in his mind and Naruto groaned.

Sasuke glanced sideways. "What are you groaning about?"

Had he been making noises all along? Naruto didn't think so, but he couldn't be sure. He sure felt like complaining and whining, but _not_ to Sasuke. "Nothing, it's just cold."

"There will still be a while before we get there, especially in this weather," Sasuke said after another quick glance. "You can take a nap if you want to."

Great, if Sasuke decided to voice his concern about the circles around Naruto's eyes and general bad condition, he must look like a zombie. It was no wonder, though, that he was in bad shape. He hadn't been able to sleep very well last night; not very well at all.

"Nah, it's ok." Naruto refused anyway. It was how they worked. If Sasuke was driving - and he usually was - mostly because Naruto tended to park in the middle of the street when he would spot a wanted person, or drive through parks while chasing someone, then Naruto would stay awake to keep Sasuke alert and focused on the road. Granted, he was usually more efficient, mostly keeping Sasuke annoyed and on his toes by talking or changing radio stations.

"Hm ...," Sasuke added, in a tone of voice so familiar that Naruto knew exactly what was coming next. "Idiot."

Naruto turned his head to look outside, and he could see a smile forming on his lips in the window. When had that word stopped being an insult and become an endearment of sorts? And how dysfunctional was that, precisely?

Deciding he was useless anyway, Naruto closed his eyes against the beautiful landscape outside.

The little bit of sleep was more restful than all the endless hours Naruto had spent the previous night tossing on his bed. The smell that took him out of his slumber was familiar, so delicious that Naruto had almost written it off as a dream, before he realized that the car was not moving.

He opened his eyes, rubbing them with the back of his hands.

"Are we there yet?" Naruto asked even though he knew they weren't. Sasuke was smirking when he looked up at him, and Naruto just _knew_ it. He didn't say a thing, though, when Sasuke offered him a paper cup of hot chocolate. But he had to frown when the smell of coffee reached him. It was so typical of Sasuke, to waste the perfect opportunity to drink the delicious beverage sent by the gods for something...

Well, okay, coffee wasn't that bad, but why did he always have to have it black? Geez, and besides, he was too tense for it. It would have been better if Naruto was the one buying today.

"No. I stopped to get gas," Sasuke answered. His hair was damp, sticking a little to his cheekbone. Naruto turned to look outside; the rain had intensified and the sky was practically black, like the clouds were made of ink.

"How long to get to town?" Naruto had definitely fallen asleep, but in this weather, he had no idea how long he'd been out. It could have been minutes, or hours. Sasuke gave him a one shoulder shrug, which didn't help much. "Are you tired?"

"No," Sasuke said brusquely, even though it was perfectly clear that he _was_ tired.

So Naruto offered. "Maybe I could drive?"

Sasuke gave him a look that said that Naruto would run right over a lady crossing the street if he only touched the wheel, like he didn't drive every single day to work. But the actual refusal was polite. "You're still sleepy."

"Whatever," Naruto said. The thing with Tsunade's car was an _accident_. It had only happened _once_. And it was, of course, just his luck that Sasuke had been around to see it.

"Your snores were louder than the music I had on." Sasuke spoke when he started the engine again. "I hope that was just a one time thing. I want to get some sleep, too, you know."

"What?" Naruto asked, before it hit him. _They would be sleeping in the same bed that night_. "I don't snore."

"You were snoring like a chainsaw just a minute ago."

Naruto glared at the side of Sasuke's face. "Well, I've shared a bed before and no one's complained."

Sasuke took his dark eyes off the road to look back at Naruto. He didn't seem angry or anything, but his gaze was searching. And it lasted longer than a driver on an unfamiliar wet road could afford, so Naruto tore his eyes away first, feeling a little shaken. A big mouthful of chocolate helped, but it didn't erase Sasuke's face that was flickering on and off in front Naruto's eyes, like broken light.

A minute passed, then two, and Naruto, not feeling tired in the slightest now, couldn't take it. He opened his mouth and talked about the first random thing that came to his mind; the first camping trip he went on when he was ten. Usually Sasuke complained about him talking like that, but now he was completely quiet. It took a while, but his shoulders eventually relaxed. So Naruto kept talking.

The rain was still heavy when they reached town. Fortunately, they had a map and the town itself wasn't really big, so it wasn't a problem to find the inn.

When Sasuke parked in front of it, Naruto looked out as carefully as the rain let him. It seemed like a nice old house, but there was something off with the picture. Maybe it was the downpour and the lack of sunlight and gloom that always went with such weather. Naruto couldn't help but frown. Houses shouldn't feel different when it's raining. He really hoped that, tomorrow, he would be able to look at the nice, ordinary white building and not have to suppress shivers.

For now, they had to get to the front door. If Sasuke remembered to pack an umbrella – which was not something Naruto would bet against – it was inside the luggage, too deep to dig for it.

"So," Naruto grinned at him. "It'll be a race?"

Sasuke took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes onto the muddy path that was leading to the house. Nodding, he exhaled.

Naruto stretched back to reach one of our suitcases, and Sasuke did the same. From the fugitive little glance Sasuke let escape Naruto had pretty good reason to believe he was just as aware of how their arms brushed against each other in the small space. In was all so crazy and they had to get used to the idea of sleeping in the same bed it if they meant to catch any sleep that night.

Naruto was distracted, so Sasuke got hold of his suitcase first. He waited for Naruto and they nodded to each other and stepped out of the car. As soon as his shoes felt the squishy ground, he was already drenched. Raindrops were dense and heavy on his shirt as they ran to the entrance. Naruto was the first one to arrive and he tried to open the doors, but they were locked. Listening to Sasuke curse behind him, Naruto grinned and knocked.

Everything was fine; even if the house still felt odd, Sasuke's hissing, annoyed voice was calming him down. Naruto took a half step back, tempted to reach out for the warmth of another human body when the loud sound of unlocking made his heart start to beat wildly and painfully in his chest. All the other sounds seemed to die when the hinges of the door made an acute, squealing sound. Naruto instinctively reached behind to grab Sasuke's wrist, only a breath away from panicking as the door opened, letting out a puff of warm air and a high-pitched scream.

"Good evening, boys." An unfamiliar female voice effectively cut through it. "I presume you are the guests I have been expecting?"

-

* * *

-

Hahaha... I told Cupricanka that this would be only a 3 chapters fic, but we already have so much plot, that or the next chapter is huge, or we cut some details, or we write more chapters, but we really haven't talked about it XD

So, as you can see this is a collab between me and the amazing Cupricanka (aren't you jealous? ;)) I had have a wonderful time working with her... :D

I had a long list of rambling but I think I forgot what I wanted to say XD  
Oh~ yeah... one of those things is a random warning, there will be some deaths, ok... after all this is supposed to be a police investigation, so you be warned about that...  
I wonder if the atmosphere of the fic changed in the last few sentences.

All the love goes to Cupricanka... the death treats are for me. We _are_ working on it, but it's me who is more lazy...

You know... comments always help :D


	2. Chapter 2

- - - - -

Naruto's hand reached behind, grabbing his. Wet on the cold wind, Sasuke was a little astonished just how warm Naruto was, but he had no time to wonder for long. The grip on his hand was becoming painfully harsh; so harsh that Sasuke didn't believe Naruto was even aware of what he was doing.

"Good evening, boys." An unfamiliar female voice said from the doorstep that Sasuke couldn't see well because Naruto was shielding most of the doorway. "I presume you are the guests I have been expecting?"

Struggling out of the grip Naruto had on him in front of the person that opened the door was not a good idea. Sasuke instead stepped forward, hoping Naruto would get the reassurance he obviously needed from that and let go. It was also easier to see over his shoulder.

"Good evening," he answered, nodding to the old lady standing in front of them. It was most likely Chiyo Akasuna, the Inn's owner. "We have a reservation for a room under the name Uchiha."

She smiled, showing them her worn teeth in the process. There was nothing warm and friendly in it, but her job was to be polite, not to be their grandmother. What Sasuke actually disliked was her hair, gathered sloppily into a bun but with wild, knotted strands peeking all around. It reminded him of an old, stubborn teacher he'd had in elementary school.

Naruto walked inside first, and quickly, when she moved to make room for them.

"The kitchen is already closed," Chiyo said when the door behind them clicked, leaving the coldness on the other side. "But I could make you something to eat if you're hungry. The rain must have prolonged your trip; you look exhausted."

"No, it's fine," Naruto reassured her quickly. Sasuke was actually hungry, but if Naruto was denying free food, than he had a good reason for it so he didn't say anything. As an effort to cover for some of that impoliteness, Naruto added more slowly, "We just need to take a bath and go to sleep. Right, babe?"

That was a stupid endearment; Sasuke absolutely hated to be called that. Naruto's 'hint, hint' tone of voice made it sound… not that bad. Not bad at all, actually. Tearing his eyes away with some effort from where Naruto was still trying to make him decline the offer with the power of his will, Sasuke politely refused food.

"Well, in that case, I'll just show you to your room, boys," Chiyo said before going to a small reception desk to pick up a set of keys. "If you would follow me, please."

She was slow, but determined to show them the way. They had to follow her.

"I also have restaurant service open," she was saying, "We serve breakfast and lunch from 9:30 until 2:00, dinner from 5:00 until 8:00. The food is homemade. But if you city boys don't like it or don't get to the dining room on time, there is a dinner just on the edge of the town, not very far from here."

"Oh, no!" Naruto answered. "I like homemade food just fine . . . but I guess it will depend on if we make it in time or not."

Naruto grinned at her, rather forcefully in Sasuke's opinion, but it made the old lady nod. "Also I wanted to ask you . . . I don't have your check-out date."

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed, still smiling. "It's just that we don't know yet how many days we're gonna stay. It depends on how long Sasuke will need to find his . . . plant."

"Really?" she asked, interested. "A plant? I thought you were working for a magazine. "

"I do," Sasuke answered as they reached the top of the stairs. Should he say more? He was supposed to be some kind of flora enthusiast to write for a magazine of that kind, after all. He should probably _act_ interested, at the very least. "A colleague who is also a botanist reported that he saw a rare plant in this area when he was vacationing. It's really interesting, you see, because that plant, _Hieracium Snowdoniense_, was believed to be growing only in Wales before his discovery. But the climate here is similar, so . . ."

Naruto, who let Sasuke walk closer to their host, lingering just a little bit behind, snickered. Sasuke threw him a glare over his shoulder, but Naruto only grinned wider, definitely looking more sincere than before. He was thoughtfully amused by Sasuke's . . . enthusiasm. He was also still holding Sasuke's hand without any obvious discomfort, as if they did it every day.

Why would he feel discomfort? They were just putting on a show.

"That sounds really nice," Chiyo said. She didn't seem interested at all. Indeed, it was as if she wasn't even listening, so that was good. If she didn't care, then she probably didn't know much about plants, and wouldn't see through his story.

"But you should be careful if you are planning to wander. The forest is really big and it can be dangerous."

"We will, ma'am," Naruto said, studying the pictures lined up on the walls. They were mostly landscapes, or the pictures of what Sasuke thought was the Inn before it had a renovation at some point. "My name is Naruto, by the way."

The old woman nodded. "I'm Chiyo Akasuna, but you can call me grandma. Everybody does."

"Really? That must be nice."

Naruto wasn't even paying attention to her words; he was simply answering automatically. All his attention was on looking at the surroundings with a narrowed gaze he usually only got when investigating a crime scene. Was he looking for evidence of the vandalism? Surely not; that had happened some time ago.

"It reminds me of my age," she stated. Sasuke thought there was an odd, hurt look in her eyes as she turned from the last flight of stairs to the hallway. "The old chief, Sarutobi, and I are the oldest people in this town."

Chiyo told them a little more about how she had made the Inn from her family house, how she was living in a set of rooms in the ground floor that were once upon a time meant for the servants. And then, they finally stopped in front of a door. It felt as if it took forever for them to reach it because the old woman was walking so slowly. She gave them the key and wished them good night there, not going inside of the room.

Once the door closed behind them, Naruto looked at Sasuke and they both let go of each other at the same time. Neither one commented on the holding hands thing. But if Naruto decided to try and say something, Sasuke would at least be able to tell him that he was the one who started it. How realistic, exactly, was it for a couple to hold hands and carry suitcases up the stairs at the same time, Sasuke decided not to think about just then. If it wasn't realistic, they were just – trying too hard to do their job well.

Sasuke left his suitcase in the closet, glaring at Naruto when he - just as Sasuke expected - dropped his in the middle of the room. He was looking around just like he had done to the hallways before, a disapproving frown on his face. Sasuke was wondering about that but he kept glaring until Naruto got the hint, rolled his eyes and moved his things away.

"You know, I'm wondering how old this place is," Naruto said, making a face. "It would be so much nicer if she kept it a little bit better. What do you think this stain is?"

Sasuke walked to the corner, near the window, where Naruto was crouching and pointing at a spot on the wall. There was nothing there; that part of the wall was just as freshly painted as all the other parts in the room – and the rest of the Inn they had seen so far.

"Rust, or something. What do you think?" Naruto asked, leaning even closer. "It looks so old and dilapidated. It certainly should have been painted over by now. Gross, at any case."

Sasuke pushed Naruto out of the way and ignored the indignant protests as he took a better, closer look. The wall was still perfect, white and freshly painted, no matter how carefully he was looking.

He moved away without saying anything and rubbed his eyes. This was going to be one of _those_ cases, he just knew it. Naruto was acting way too oddly, what with grabbing his hand at the entrance and all the staring around, like he was in a ghost train.

"Anyway," Naruto said, "Calling dibs on the shower!"

Sasuke nodded, sitting on the bed - the big, comfortable, Naruto-and-I-are-gonna-sleep-together-on-it bed. Sasuke watched Naruto get a set of clothes, making a face of discomfort when he took out his wet shoes, and then disappeared in the bathroom.

"I won't be long," Naruto promised, closing the door.

Alone in the room, Sasuke glanced to the part of the wall Naruto had been pointing out earlier. It was still perfectly white. There was no stain on it. The entire Inn, actually, looked not only clean, but freakishly clean, to him. For Naruto to complain when there was nothing to complain about . . . It was rare. And it would usually be followed with Sasuke giving his opinion on just how pathetic Naruto's whining was. However . . .

There had been a few times when Naruto had done or said something – _weird,_ that eventually lead them to the solution of the case, without Sasuke ever noticing that there was something off.

The first time it had happened, or at least the first time Sasuke had seen it, it was in the first year of their partnership. They were working on the team dealing with organized crime. The people they were trying to corner, once there was finally enough evidence and a witness, were accused of every possible crime, from picking pockets to first-degree murder. Their team burst into the hideout with the orders to arrest everyone in sight, only there was no one there. The place had been wiped clean.

As they were getting desperate, sure that the hide-out was empty and all the important people had split the country, Naruto had walked to one of the corners, speaking softly to himself. He took his police jacket off, which left the bulletproof vest visible and let it fall on the ground at an odd angle. No one paid him much attention, no one aside from Sasuke. But then Naruto turned, announced that he knew where they were all hiding and lead the team to a room behind the kitchen.

It was an arrest that improved Naruto's reputation in the station monumentally. So, when he told Tsunade that he got the information on the whereabouts of the suspects from a girl that was hiding in a corner but later disappeared, leaving behind only the jacket he gave her because she was cold, Sasuke didn't say anything. Would anyone even believe him if he told them that Naruto had gotten his information out of thin air? Because he'd been watching Naruto talk and give his jacket away and there had been _nothing there_.

The worst – or the best – part was that Naruto didn't seem to realize something was off. He kept looking for that girl for a long time before he saw her picture in one of the victim files, and he had mourned her death. Sasuke still had no idea why, exactly, he had blackened the date of her death carefully out on the document, against all the rules, before Naruto came back from the bathroom where he had taken off after first seeing it. The only explanation he had to offer was that Naruto would have freaked out if he realized she was already long dead when he had 'talked' to her.

Maybe, after some time, Sasuke would have convinced himself that it was all some kind of fluke, or that Naruto had an informant he wanted to keep a secret so he invented that crazy story and acted it out for some unimaginable reason. But that was only the first time. It happened again. Not too often, and never again as obvious, but it had happened.

Sasuke took it as Naruto's special little talent. It wasn't as he ever felt or saw anything himself and Naruto would always turn out to be right eventually, so it was fine. It worked.

The only time he really freaked out was when he had invited Naruto to his house. They had been working on a case and as Tsunade had threatened them to take them off of it if they hadn't solved it before she remembered to check again, they had decided to take all the work home. As Sasuke imagined Naruto's house was a barnyard – he was proved to be wrong later - he decided it would be better if they did it at his house. He had left Naruto alone for a few minutes at one point, going to the store down the block to get some food. When he came back, Naruto looked up from the file he was trying to balance on his knee – instead of reading it - and told him that his mom looked really nice. Sasuke froze momentarily, wondering, _hoping_, before he caught the nod Naruto was giving to the nearby shelf, the one with framed photographs on it. He'd been snooping around; it was nothing more serious than that.

"Your turn," Naruto's voice took him out of his musings. Sasuke looked up, a little startled. His mind must have been playing tricks on him because when he saw Naruto, who was wearing only a pair of pants and drying his hair with a towel, his tan skin was glowing faintly. Or maybe that was thanks to the contrast of the steam of the shower and the light provided by the bathroom. Naruto noticed him frowning. "What?"

"Nothing," he answered, getting up to get some clothes for himself.

- - -

Naruto opened his eyes slowly. He felt giddy - or maybe comfortable would be a better word. It was still dark, probably very early in the morning. Feeling warm and content, Naruto sighed, moving a little to press himself to the body behind him. Hugging the pillow, he closed his eyes to go back to sleep as he felt the body get close to him as well.

His fuzzy mind vaguely wondered where he was, anyway. It was not his room, obviously; he didn't have a red comforter. Naruto opened his eyes again and squinted through the darkness. The silhouettes of the furniture didn't trigger anything for a moment, and then Naruto remembered. He was on an undercover mission. He was staying at that creepy, dirty inn, so the body behind him - the one he was cuddling, the person whose hand was lying loosely on his waist – that was . . . Sasuke.

Naruto's eyes widened immediately. He didn't move but his body got a little tense; he didn't want to wake Sasuke up but, damn, it was so warm, so comfortable. It felt so good. Carefully, he put some space between them, wondering if it was going to be like this every single night until their mission was over. Worse yet, he almost hoped it would, especially if Sasuke planned on sleeping through it all. Naruto sighed tiredly, closing his eyes again in order to go back to sleep.

A couple minutes passed. It wasn't working. He'd begun shifting restlessly in the bed. Finally, he changed positions to face Sasuke. Watching his partner sleep was making him even more restless. He was starting to think about things he was not supposed to. Sasuke looked so peaceful without his ever-present frown, so cute when his nose twitched like something was bothering him. Um, _cute_? Usually, Naruto would call Sasuke everything _but_ cute. He was so tired already and it was just the first day. And now that he thought about it, he was a little bit hungry, too.

Naruto turned on his back and placed his forearm over his eyes. It was a trick that had been useful a couple times before when he wanted to take a nap, but it wasn't helping him this time. His stomach rumbled. Maybe if he went down to the kitchen and ate something, had a glass of milk, it would help him sleep.

Naruto removed the covers and stood up. Quietly, so he would not wake Sasuke up, he walked out and towards the first floor where he had caught a glimpse of the kitchen earlier. There were some noises coming from the corners hidden in the dark, cracks and distant clatter, but that was normal at night – nothing like what he imagined he heard when they arrived and Chiyo opened the entrance door, though. Naruto's own apartment rumbled sometimes, too. Passing a few other doors, he wondered how many rooms were taken, when a loud snore from one of the rooms near the stairs startled him.

The old wood groaned as Naruto took the stairs down. The sound of his steps echoed through the hallways. The dim light from the corridor let him see where he was going, but it also illuminated the faint yet disturbing stains on the walls and carpets. They didn't look quite as unsettling while they'd been walking up into the room earlier, but the light had been brighter then.

Naruto felt put out about them, for more than just the sanitation. Sasuke was the one who was obsessive-compulsive about cleaning, so why wasn't he complaining about it now? Even when Naruto pointed out how disgusting it was, he didn't say anything. And somehow, those stupid stains really bothered him. Naruto knew they were probably there because Chiyo was old and not as mobile as when she'd been younger. He couldn't demand of someone her age to keep the entire inn clean, but the stains were strange. It was like the building was so worn out that if he poked at them, the walls would crumble under his fingers.

Naruto sighed. The walls wouldn't crumble if he poked at them. The house was not that old, he was just letting his imagination run away him; it must be that he was trying to keep his mind off of Sasuke.

He arrived at the kitchen and looked around. He was feeling just as uncomfortable in it so, in an attempt to calm down, Naruto grabbed a glass to get some water. There was a package of cookies on the top of the counter, so he helped himself to a few.

Instead of wasting his time thinking up stupid things about the inn, he should focus on the case. This was the place that had been vandalized, one of the cases from the missing cop's file. Maybe those kids that had made trouble just wanted to annoy the old lady. Kids could be really mean when they wanted to be.

"You shouldn't be here."

Maybe because he was too concentrated on his thoughts, Naruto almost choked on the cookie he had in his mouth. He coughed it out.

When he regained his balance, Naruto answered the person standing by the kitchen door. "You scared me."

"You shouldn't be here."

Naruto rolled his eyes and drank some more water to help him wash the remaining crumbs down his throat. He should have looked for milk; it would go much better with the sweet cookies. A boy of about eleven, or maybe even thirteen years old – it was hard to tell in the dim light – was standing near the door. He looked familiar, but it took a moment before Naruto remembered seeing him before. It was that red-haired boy he'd seen with Chiyo in the framed photos hanging around the house.

"Sorry pal, but I couldn't sleep. What about you? Couldn't sleep either?"

The boy just shrugged as he sat down in the chair that was closest to him.

Naruto tried something else. "Are you related to the old lady who owns the house?"

"Yes," the kid answered this time.

Naruto smiled. The boy's voice was deep and it sounded like it belonged to an older person, as if he wasn't used to using it often. Maybe he was shy. Naruto offered a cookie to the kid, but he shook his head.

"I'm Naruto. What's your name?" Naruto smiled as he spoke.

He didn't get a smile in return. "Sasori," the boy replied.

"Tell me, Sasori," Naruto asked, struggling to make conversation. "How does the school treat you?"

"I don't go to school anymore," he said, his face blank. No happiness, no sadness. What an odd kid.

If Naruto said that he wasn't surprised he would be lying, but he tried to recall if Chiyo had mentioned something about her family. In fact, he was sure she had implied that her son was dead when she'd been explaining about the house. Well, perhaps because of all the disappearances and her son's death, she had decided to home-school her grandson.

It was a pity, in his opinion. Even if there weren't a lot of children in the town, Naruto believed all kids should interact with others of their age. Maybe the isolation was why the kid seemed older.

He tried to encourage Sasori. "But I bet you still have a lot of friends."

"I don't leave the house anymore."

Naruto felt bad for the kid. It wasn't any of his business, not unless the kid gave out some signs of child abuse. He had come for a different reason. But the simple, flat way he'd said that, like a person that had made his peace with fate a long time ago . . . it made Naruto's chest hurt.

"And why is that?" He smiled forcefully.

"Because Grandma doesn't want me to leave."

'_It's a pity, really, what kids have to do for what some people call love,'_ Naruto thought.

"Well, I'm gonna be around for a while. If you want, we could spend some time together, do something fun." Naruto tried on another smile for Sasori.

Again, he got nothing in turn for the smile, only those same words. "You shouldn't be here."

"Ok, ok. I get it," Naruto muttered. Maybe he had touched on a delicate subject. "Geez, you don't have to be so uptight. I'll go to my room."

He put the rest of the cookies in their place, drank what was left of the water and stood up to wash the glass. Putting it away to dry, he started to say, "Well good nigh-"

But he stopped, because instead of the kid, it was the old lady Chiyo who was looking at him. He hadn't heard anything, not Sasori going out and not her when she had walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Ma'am," he said sheepishly. _'Damn it, kid,'_ he thought reproachfully.

She was frowning disapprovingly. "What are you doing up, Naruto?"

"Sorry." He smiled, trying to appease her. "I couldn't sleep."

"Because you were hungry," she finished for him, and sighed when Naruto nodded. "That's why I offered to make something for you two to eat. I don't like people wandering in my house at night."

Great, if he couldn't manage to get used to the place and sleep well, Naruto would be forced to lie in bed all night long and try not to watch Sasuke sleep too obsessively. What kind of policy was, 'I don't like people wondering around the house at night?' Like he was ten year-old hellion and would just start breaking things.

"Sorry, Ma'am. It won't happen again."

"I hope so," she said, not even trying to soften it. She stayed behind and waited for him to leave the kitchen and climb up the stairs. When Naruto arrived at the door of his and Sasuke's room, all the lights in the house went off. He was left to stand in the hallway, with his hand on the knob, in complete darkness. It was rude of her. But although Naruto was slightly annoyed, he didn't really mind it. She had her habits, and they are always hard to change, especially at her age.

Naruto opened the door as quietly as possible so he wouldn't wake Sasuke up. The darkness in the room had thinned. The sky outside was already turning gray; dawn was close. Sasuke was still asleep, unconsciously using Naruto's absence to spread over the bed. It took some careful maneuvering to make him move and make space for Naruto to sneak under the covers.

He hadn't gotten too cold wandering about, but Sasuke had kept the bed warm and inviting. It felt so good to relax into that comfortable softness, Naruto forgot all about the old annoying lady and the boy he had talked to. When Sasuke put his arm around him, which was already a familiar gesture from the way Naruto had woken up, he sighed and let the last of the tension ooze out of his body. It wasn't long before he fell asleep again.

-

* * *

-

Cupricanka and I bring you the next chapter... yeay! :D  
beta'ed by dolphina12 .:loves:.

Officially this has became a cookie-eating moster XD I hope that will make you happy.  
Things are about to get more interesting ;)

And it seems like my rambling powers are on vacations...  
So I'll just remind you that you should feed us with your comments.  
Feed us!!!


End file.
